Mailing chute



J. R. BoYD MAILING CHUTE' July 5, 1960 Filed oct. 1s, 1958 Snvenfor James/9.50516! #/.v PATEMTATTGRNEI/s v United States Patent MAILING CHUTE zolsrar crescent, calgary, Alberta,

VCanada R. Boyd,

My. invention relates to new and useful improvements in mailing chutes, particularly mailing chutes adapted to extend between inner and outer walls of a building and the like, the principal object and essence of my invention being to provide a device of the character herewithin described which includes -a boxing extending between the inner and outer walls `and hinged closure covers on the inner and outer ends of said boxing, and linkage means inter-connecting said covers whereby when the outer one is opened, this automatically opens the inner one thereby permitting the passage through the boxing of mail being delivered.

Yet another object of my invention is to provide a device of the character herewithin described which is readily tted into existing walls with the minimum of construction alterations.

Still another object of my invention is to provide a device of the character herewithin described which is simple in construction, economical in manufacture, and otherwise well suited Ifor the purpose for which it is designed.

With the foregoing objects in view, and such other objects and advantages as will become apparent to those skilled in the `art to which this invention relates as this specification proceeds, my invention consists essentially in the arrangement and construction of parts all as hereinafter more particularly described, reference being had to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a sectional representation showing my device in situ.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary front elevation of my device.

Figure 3 is a sectional view along the lines 3-3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the linkage and pivot rods per se.

In the drawings like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the different igures.

Proceeding now to describe my invention in detail, it will be seen upon reference to the accompanying drawing that I have illustrated `a section of a wall or door 1 including a vertical outer panel 2 and a vertical inner panel 3 apertured yas at 4 and 5 respectively, it being noted that the aperture 5 is lower than the aperture 4.

A rectangular boxing or chute member collectively designated 6 extends between the apertures 4 and 5, said boxing including side walls 7, and upper wall 8 and a lower wall 9. It will be observed that the upper and lower walls slope downwardly and inwardly from the outer vertical panel 2 towards the inner vertical panel 3.

An open rectangular channel frame 9 is secured to the vertical panels 2 and 3, the channeling surrounding the apertures 4 yand 5 respectively. Set flush within the front rectangular channel 9 is a rectangular closure or door 10 mounted for pivotal movement in the direction of arrow 11 by means of a pivot rod 12 extending through the closure adjacent the upper edge thereof and through the upper end 13 of the aforementioned rec- PfafemeaJuly .5, 1960 tangular framing 9, thus permitting the closure to open outwardly andupwardly. l 4

An inner. closure or door I1,4 is ralso mounted flush` within the rectangular lframing 9 by means ofa pivot pin 15 extending through the closure adjacent Vthe upper edgethereof and through the upper end 13 ofthe rectangular `frame work.l This permits the inner closure 14 to pivot inwardly and upwardly in the direction of arrow 16. t j j Linkage means collectively designated 17 operatively connects the, two closures ytogether and consists of a right Aangular extension 18 formed on one end of the pivot pin 12 and extending upwardly when the closure 10 is in the closedposition. A similar right angular extension 19 is'iformed Von one end of the pivot pin 15. However, this extension extends in the direction of the outer closure at right angles from the pin 15 when the inner closure is in the closed position.

A telescopic rod assembly 20 is pivotally secured by the ends thereof to the ends 21 and 22 of the extensions 1.8 and 19 respectively, pivots 23 forming this connection. One portion Z4 of the -assembly 20 is hollow and adapted to receive the end 25 of the rod portion 26 so that the relationship between the two closures can be adjusted. In this connection a screw-equipped clamp 27 clamps the rod in the desired position within the tube 20.

An extension portion 28 is formed on the extension 19 of the rod 15 and a tension spring 29 extends between this extension and a lug 30 formed on the rod 26 and is so positioned that the spring 29 normally maintains the two closures in the closed position.

-In operation, the opening of the outside door or closures autom-atically causes the opposite door to open and, conversely, the closing or releasing of either of the doors automatically permits the other one to close.

It will therefore be appreciated that if the outer door 10 is opened, mail deposited within the chute member 6 automatically slides by gravity downwardly and past the closure 14 which is opened by the s-ame amount thus preventing the lodgement of mail within the chute member which is undesirable 'for several reasons.

Since various modilcations can be made in my invention as hereinabove described, and many -apparently widely diierent embodiments of same made within the spirit and scope of the claims without departing from such spirit and scope, it is intended that all matter contained in the accompanying specification shall be interpreted as illustrative only and not in a limiting sense.

What I claim as my invention is:

l. A mailing chute -for installation -in the walls, doors or the like, including inner and outer vertical panels, comprising in combination a hollow fboxing extending through said wall, said boxing including side walls and upper and lower walls, said upper and lower walls sloping downwardly from the outer end to the inner end of said boxing, said outer and inner ends being open to the interior of said boxing, an open rectangular frame at each end of said boxing and secured to said inner and outer panels bounding said outer and inner ends of said boxing, an outer closure hingedly secured via the upper edge thereof to adjacent the upper ends of the sides of one of said rectangular frames, an inner closure hingedly secured via the upper edge thereof to adjacent the upper end of the sides of the other of said frames, said outer and inner closures adapted to swing upwardly away from said boxing, and linkage means extending between said outer and inner closures whereby when said outer clo sure is opened and closed, said inner closure is also opened and closed, concurrently, said linkage means including a right angled extension of the hinged pin of said outer closure, said extension extending upwardly of the outer end of said boxing when said outer closure is closed, a right angled eiitension on the hinged pin of said inner closure, said last mentioned extension extending toward the outer closure when said inner closure is closed, -adjust-ably clampable telescopical rod means joining the end's'of said extensions, and spring means between said telescopical rod means andonf saidv extensions,

adapted normally? to maintain lboth of said closures in the closed position;4 Y l' '2. In "a mailing chute, the combination of outer and inner vertical frames disposed in horizontally spaced Vand vertically offset relation,-ga sloping chute member extending between said frames, "outer and inner lhorizontal hinge pins journalled in the upper portions of the respective outer and inner frames, outer and'inner closures secured to the respective hinge pins andcooperating with the respective frames forfselectiv'ely opening and closing the i outer andinne'r lendsfof said chute'member, and means operatively connecting said closures together for simultaneous 'opening' and closing movement, said means comprising angular extensions provided on said hinge pins, a. link pivotally connected at the ends thereof to said 'extensions and disposed in the upper portion of said chute member, said link including a pair of slidably telescoped sections, means for releasably locking said sections in a pre-adjusted position, and a tension spring anchored at one end thereof to said link and connected at its other Vend to the extension of said inner hinge pin at a point more distant from thev inner hinge pin than the point of connection of `saidlink Ato `the innerhinge Vpin extension,

whereby to urge said closures totheir closed position.

ReferencesCited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 981,921 Fordyce Ian. 17, 1911 1,202,259 Babcock Oct. 24, 1916 1,437,523 Kolstad IDEC. 5,.,1922 2,569,624 Wychowaniec et al. Oct. 2, ,1951 

